Kansas City Chiefs: Way-Too-Early 53-Man Roster and Depth-Chart Predictions

The 2016 NFL draft is now completely in the rearview mirror, and the Kansas City Chiefs added nine new players to the roster. Now, it's time to project how these rookies fit in with their new team.

Kansas City advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs last season, giving the New England Patriots a stiff challenge at Gillette Stadium. How much closer are the Chiefs to a championship after this draft?

The season is still months away from kicking off, but it's always fun to try to project how roster spots will shake out. We know that it's way too early, but every fan likes to see how their team shakes up at any point, right?

So, let's see which players are going to make the final 53-man roster and how the depth chart will take shape.

Quarterback

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Depth Chart                                        Player

1                                                             Alex Smith

2                                                             Kevin Hogan

3                                                             Aaron Murray

The Chiefs will end up keeping three quarterbacks, and this race seems rather easy to call. Alex Smith is the obvious starter, and after using a fifth-round choice on Kevin Hogan out of Stanford, he'll almost certainly make the roster.

The battle to make the team will be between Aaron Murray and Tyler Bray. Both quarterbacks had successful careers in the SEC conference in college—Bray at Tennessee and Murray at Georgia—but Murray seems to be the better pro prospect.

Murray could be the primary backup since he's been in the system longer, but Hogan is the better player and should end up surpassing him regardless.

Running Back

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Depth Chart                                          Player

1                                                               Jamaal Charles

2                                                               Charcandrick West

3                                                               Spencer Ware

4                                                               Knile Davis

There won't be any change in the Kansas City backfield from what we saw last year. After all, it was highly successful.

Jamaal Charles is still the team's No. 1 running back, but you have to wonder how much patience the team will display if he can't stay healthy, particularly since Kansas City seemed to play better without him last year.

The combination of Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware rushed for 1,037 yards and 10 touchdowns. They'll continue to split the carries as the backups to Charles because, as evidenced last season, that works too.

Knile Davis will make the team because of his ability to return kicks. The team won't soon forget the kickoff return for a touchdown that he had to start the Wild Card Game against the Houston Texans last season.

Fifth-round draft choice Tyreek Hill will start his career on the practice squad.

Wide Receiver

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Depth Chart                                   Player

1                                                        Jeremy Maclin

2                                                        Albert Wilson

3                                                        Rod Streater

4                                                        Chris Conley

5                                                        Demarcus Robinson

6                                                        De'Anthony Thomas

At this point in time, these choices don't seem too tough to make either. The wild card will be Demarcus Robinson, whom the Chiefs drafted in the fourth round out of Florida. 

He was suspended four different times by two different coaches during his college career, but if he can keep his nose clean with the Chiefs, he can turn into a deep threat who the team calls upon to stretch the field, something this offense never seems to be able to do.

Jeremy Maclin and Albert Wilson will be the starters, while veteran Rod Streater will beat out second-year receiver Chris Conley for the No. 3 spot, though Conley will take it from him before the year is out.

De'Anthony Thomas will make the team—just barely. The Chiefs will give him one more chance to be the dynamic playmaker they hoped they were drafting in 2014. He can still do damage as a return man, and that will allow him to hang on the roster.

Tight End

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Depth Chart                                       Player

1                                                            Travis Kelce

2                                                            James O'Shaughnessy

3                                                            Demetrius Harris

Again, pretty easy to call. Barring any injuries before the season starts, these will be the three tight ends who make the team.

Travis Kelce has grown into one of the league's top tight ends and will continue to see nearly all of the snaps. James O'Shaughnessy and Demetrius Harris are still developing, but both have promising careers in front of them behind Kelce.

All three players fit what the Chiefs like to do, and all three players will be on the team going forward.

Offensive Line

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Depth Chart                  Position                     Player

1                                           OT                            Eric Fisher

1                                           OT                            Mitchell Schwartz

1                                          OG                            Jarrod Pughsley

1                                          OG                            Laurent Duvernay-Tardif

1                                           C                              Mitch Morse

2                                          OT                            Jah Reid

2                                          OG                           Parker Ehinger

2                                          C                              Zach Fulton

The Chiefs decided to use a fourth-round pick on guard Parker Ehinger, but it's tough to project whether he'll be ready to crack the starting lineup this year. It seems more likely he'll be a reserve lineman in 2016.

Many fans likely figured the Chiefs would add another offensive lineman later in the draft, but the team chose not to. The guard position seems weak, though. Perhaps a guy like Jah Reid moves over to one of the guard spots to begin the season.

Ourlads projects Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Jarrod Pughsley as the starting guards right now.

Defensive End

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Depth Chart                               Player

1                                               Chris Jones

2                                               Allen Bailey

3                                               Rakeem Nunez-Roches

4                                               Nicholas Williams

5                                               Dominique Davis

Second-round pick Chris Jones will be placed at defensive end so that he and Dontari Poe can be on the field at the same time. Allen Bailey will round out a solid trio from there.

When the Chiefs selected Jones at No. 37 overall in the second round, the team may have gotten one of the steals of this draft. Jones is a strong player, using his size and power to overwhelm opponents and get into the backfield. He is a threat to get after the quarterback and slow down the running game.

Bailey has registered 9.5 sacks over the last two seasons, and his skills help round out what should be an improved defensive line.

Defensive Tackle

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Depth Chart                              Player

1                                                  Dontari Poe

2                                                  Jaye Howard

The Chiefs decide to keep just two of the players listed at defensive tackle on their roster after Dominique Davis makes the roster in favor of David King and Alameda Ta'amu.

Poe still has to be considered one of the best nose tackles in the league, but his numbers dropped last season, as he ended up with just one sack. By comparison, Jaye Howard had 5.5 sacks.

Both guys will see the field plenty this season as long as they're healthy, and Howard should move over to one of the end spots in certain packages.

Outside Linebacker

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Depth Chart                               Player

1                                                    Justin Houston

2                                                    Tamba Hali

3                                                    Dee Ford

4                                                    Frank Zombo

5                                                    Dezman Moses

6                                                    Jonathan Massaquoi

Justin Houston will miss time this season, but how much time is unclear at this point. There's a good chance he could open the season on the PUP list, which means that a player not listed here would make the team initially. 

Behind Houston, the team still has Tamba Hali and Dee Ford, a young player who will likely be asked to replace Houston for a good chunk of time.

Ford will be entering his third season after being drafted in the first round in 2014. This is the year he must step up. Over the course of his first two seasons, Ford has just 30 tackles and 5.5 sacks.

Inside Linebacker

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Depth Chart                   Player

1                                       Derrick Johnson

2                                       Josh Mauga

3                                       Ramik Wilson

4                                       D.J. Alexander

Derrick Alexander and Josh Mauga made for a good combination at the inside linebacker spot last season, and there won't be much reason to shake that up, though Ramik Wilson could challenge Mauga.

Johnson and Mauga combined for 174 tackles, five sacks, three interceptions and two forced fumbles last season.

Wilson had just 20 tackles as a rookie last season, but he should get more of an opportunity this year. It will be an interesting storyline to watch throughout training camp to see if he can crack the starting lineup.

Cornerback

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Depth Chart                     Player

1                                          Marcus Peters

2                                          KeiVarae Russell

3                                          Phillip Gaines

4                                          Eric Murray

5                                          Marcus Cooper

One of the biggest stories going into the draft was the fact that the Chiefs needed to find another cornerback to line up on the other side of last year's Defensive Rookie of the Year, Marcus Peters. The team ended up drafting three players.

KeiVarae Russell of Notre Dame, Eric Murray of Minnesota and D.J. White of Georgia Tech were all chosen between Rounds 3 and 6 of the draft. That said, it's tough to see all three of them make the final roster unless the team decides to give up on Phillip Gaines or Marcus Cooper. 

We'll give Russell and Murray spots on the 53-man roster and drop White to the practice squad, though a solid camp from him could easily push a guy like Cooper off the team.

Safety

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Depth Chart            Player

1                                Eric Berry

2                                Ron Parker

3                                Jamell Fleming

4                                Daniel Sorensen

Eric Berry and Ron Parker are going to make the team, but beyond that, all bets are off at the safety position. Berry is coming off being named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year, and Parker has 24 passes defensed over the last two seasons.

It will be interesting to see if former New York Giants safety Stevie Brown can make the team. The Chiefs will be the sixth NFL team for Brown, who the team decided to sign at the beginning of April. He has eight career interceptions.

Can Brown beat out Jamell Fleming or Daniel Sorensen to make the final roster? That will be a battle worth watching through camp and preseason.

Special Teams

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Depth Chart                               Player

Kicker                                          Cairo Santos

Punter                                         Dustin Colquitt

Long Snapper                            James Winchester

Punt Returner                           De'Anthony Thomas

Kick Returner                            Knile Davis

There shouldn't be any surprises here.

Cairo Santos is turning into one of the league's most reliable place-kickers. Dustin Colquitt averaged 44.4 yards per punt last season, and the team didn't bring in a player to challenge either one in camp. Their jobs are secure.

Davis and Thomas make the team primarily for their ability to return kicks and punts. The Chiefs will use one to handle each of these duties and hope they can get a big play here and there.

53-Man Roster Projection

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53-Man Roster Projection

	Player	Position
1	Alex Smith	QB
2	Kevin Hogan	QB
3	Aaron Murray	QB
4	Jamaal Charles	RB
5	Charcandrick West	RB
6	Spencer Ware	RB
7	Knile Davis	RB
8	Jeremy Maclin	WR
9	Albert Wilson	WR
10	Rod Streater	WR
11	Chris Conley	WR
12	De'Anthony Thomas	WR
13	DeMarcus Robinson	WR
14	Travis Kelce	TE
15	James O'Shaughnessy	TE
16	Demetrius Harris	TE
17	Eric Fisher	OT
18	Mitchell Schwartz	OT
19	Jah Reid	OT
20	Mitch Morse	C
21	Zach Fulton	C
22	Laurent Duvernay-Tardif	OG
23	Jarrod Pughsley	OG
24	Parker Ehinger	OG
25	Rakeem Nunez-Roches	DE
26	Allen Bailey	DE
27	Nicholas Williams	DE
28	Dominique Davis	DE
29	Chris Jones	DE
30	Dontari Poe	DT
31	Jaye Howard	DT
32	Justin Houston	OLB
33	Tamba Hali	OLB
34	Dee Ford	OLB
35	Frank Zombo	OLB
36	Dezman Moses	OLB
37	Jonathan Massaquoi	OLB
38	Derrick Johnson	ILB
39	Josh Mauga	ILB
40	Ramik Wilson	ILB
41	D.J. Alexander	ILB
42	Marcus Peters	CB
43	KeiVarae Russell	CB
44	Eric Murray	CB
45	Phillip Gaines	CB
46	Marcus Cooper	CB
47	Eric Berry	S
48	Daniel Sorensen	S
49	Ron Parker	S
50	Jamell Fleming	S
51	Cairo Santos	PK
52	Dustin Colquitt	P
53	James Winchester	LS